Easy Golden Milk Recipe (Turmeric Latte) with Vegan Options

Please enjoy our delicious and nutritious golden milk recipe – also known as a turmeric latte. It’s very quick and simple to make, full of cozy warm spices, and is a literal superfood! It’s also easy to customize to your liking, making it more or less spicy or sweet, or make it vegan with your milk of choice.

You may have noticed that we are big fans of turmeric here at Homestead and Chill! We love to grow turmeric, make homemade turmeric powder, and consume it in as many ways possible. Even if you don’t grow your own, making golden milk is a fabulous way to enjoy the numerous health benefits of turmeric powder.

NOTE: This post was originally published in February 2020.

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What is Golden Milk?

Golden milk is a nourishing and delicious warm beverage made of turmeric, milk, and warming spices. It is earthy, creamy, and slightly sweet. The rich yellow-orange pigment of turmeric dyes the finished brew a lovely golden color, giving it its name. 

In its most basic traditional version, golden milk is simply ground turmeric powder dissolved in milk. Yet there are many creative and tasty spins on the traditional recipe that incorporate cinnamon, ginger, clove, nutmeg, maple syrup, vanilla and more.

The History of Golden Milk

The origin of golden milk goes back to ancient India, deeply rooted in Ayurvedic tradition. Ayurveda is focused on whole-body health and wellness, nurturing the mind, body, and spirit equally. According to the Ayurveda Institute, Ayurvedic medicine is one of the world’s oldest holistic healing systems, originated in India more than 5,000 years ago, and is often called the “Mother of All Healing.” 

In addition to having a rich cultural history, golden milk has had a recent surge in popularity among modern herbalists, the health-conscious community, and hipsters alike. Many independent coffee shops now offer it on their menu.

Benefits of Drinking Golden Milk

Sipping on golden milk is an easy and tasty way to consume a healthy dose of turmeric powder, along with its active ingredient: curcumin. Because of its strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, curcumin is considered a superfood. In fact, thousands of scientific studies have shown that curcumin is effective at:

• Reducing inflammation and associated pain
• Improving memory
• Preventing and slowing cancer development
• Boosting the immune system
• Regulating blood pressure, and more

I know many people who enjoy golden milk every evening as part of their bedtime routine, as it also promotes restful sleep. Warm milk alone has a calming effect on people.

Ginger is excellent at soothing an upset stomach, and is a perfect partner to turmeric in golden milk. The addition of cinnamon brings a welcome pop of flavor, immune support, and also helps to stabilize blood sugar levels.

Because of these amazing benefits, we also take a daily organic turmeric supplement. But whenever I am battling menstrual cramps, particularly achy muscles or joints, or simply craving a warm and soothing beverage, I whip up this golden milk recipe!

Enhancing Curcumin Absorption

As you read below, you’ll see that this golden milk recipe calls for coconut oil and black pepper.

Unfortunately, raw curcumin isn’t easily absorbed by the body. It’s fat-soluble, meaning it is much more readily absorbed into the bloodstream when eaten with fat. Therefore, it’s always suggested to consume turmeric with a healthy fat such as butter, olive oil, coconut oil, or coconut milk in order to get the most benefit possible. 

If you make this golden milk recipe with full-fat coconut milk or whole cows milk, you can skip the oil – or still use it for a little extra oomph! I do suggest adding oil to “thinner” plant-based milks like almond, rice, hemp, oat, or skim cows milk though. 

Black pepper also significantly increases the absorption of turmeric. One study showed that consuming piperine (black pepper) with curcumin can increase its bioavailability by up to 2000%. So be sure to add a dash of black pepper whenever you’re cooking with turmeric too!

How to Make Golden Milk

Ingredients

Servings: This recipe is enough to make approximately two 12-ounce mugs of golden milk.

• 3 cups of organic natural milk such as oat milk, almond milk, coconut milk, hemp milk, or other milk of choice
• 2 tsp of ground turmeric powder. We grow and grind our own now, but prior to doing that we always enjoyed this bulk organic turmeric powder.
• 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (skip if you use a full-fat coconut cream or milk)
• 1/4 tsp of ground ginger powder
• A dash of black pepper
• Maple syrup, agave syrup, or honey. Sweeten to taste. We usually use about 2 tbsp.

Optional, but luxurious and delicious:

• Pinch of ground cardamom (about an 1/8 tsp, or just under)
• Pinch of ground nutmeg (about an 1/8 tsp, or just under)
• Dash of either vanilla extract, or vanilla powder

Directions

• Gently heat your milk of choice in a pot on the stovetop over medium heat.
• Once the milk is warm, add the called-for spices, oil, and sweetener.
• Use a whisk to thoroughly combine all of the ingredients. Depending on the type of milk you use, vigorous whisking may create a nice latte-like “foam”. Or use a handy frother wand if you have one!
• Continue to heat on medium-low for about 5 minutes, whisking occasionally. Exposure to low heat for a short period also help increase the bioavailability of turmeric. Do not boil.
• Serve immediately and enjoy warm. Feel free to add a little sprinkle of cinnamon on top!
• Some separation/sinking of the spices is normal. Stir once or twice while drinking as needed.

See recipe variations, storage and reheating tips below.

Storage and Shelf Life

Store leftover golden milk in the refrigerator in an air-tight container with a lid for up to 3 days. I recommend gently re-heating leftovers on the stovetop (rather than in a microwave) over medium heat to preserve maximum nutritional value.

Golden Milk Recipe Variations

• Not feeling like a warm bevvy? Golden milk is also delicious served cold, though I’d skip using oil in the recipe in that case. Simply let it cool on the stovetop some before pouring over ice, or enjoy leftovers cold.
  
• Golden milk also pairs exceptionally well with tea! If I’m in the mood for a special pick-me-up, I like to steep chai tea or Earl Grey along with the golden milk while it is on the stove. Or for a calming caffeine-free bedtime alternative, try combining golden milk with chamomile tea or another herbal tea blend. 
  
• To reduce calories or carbs in this golden milk recipe, you could replace half the milk with water or skip the sweetener – though turmeric tends to be a tad bitter on it’s own.

Pre-Made Golden Milk Powder

If you don’t have many of the called-for spices at home, or simply want a really quick and easy way to make golden milk, consider using a pre-made golden milk powder. All you do is mix it with hot water and/or warm milk and an optional sweetener of choice.

My good friend Shaina of Allura Superfoods makes an absolutely DELICIOUS, high-quality, organic Golden Blend that includes reishi and turkey tail mushrooms in addition to classic golden milk ingredients like turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper and cardamon. Code “deannacat” saves 10% off too!

Cheers!

I hope you enjoy our golden milk recipe as much as we do. Please come back to leave a review below once you give it a try. Cheers to good health in glass!

Did you know it’s easy to grow turmeric in containers in pretty much any zone? It’s true! Come learn how to grow turmeric here. Then see how to turn raw turmeric into homemade turmeric powder.

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